The God of War
by the mighty lu bu
Summary: Ares broods over his love for Xena, and the reality that not only has he lost her, but he will one day lose her permanently.


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The God of War

By the Mighty Lu Bu

The Disclaimer is not allowed to basketball in China

8

Ares stepped out on the battlefield just after a battle had ended. He stood there inhaling it all in, "I love the smell of blood in the morning"

Strolling arrogantly among the dead he just absorbed it all. This was his time, everywhere in the world people were battling for even the slightest little reason. It was a time of strategy and tactics, and war. This was the time of Rome and conquest. A beautiful period indeed.

Before the battles were small and the wars were short but now they were sustained offensives of long-term campaigns. However, things weren't perfect. The world was ripe for the right warrior to take it all, but the one he picked out didn't work out to well.

Oh she had the ability yes, she had the drive, she had everything. But his bastard half-brother and the irritating blonde ruined it all for him. Xena had moved on and was now fighting for good. It sickened him that a warrior like her was fighting only for the greater good, but he still admitted with a smile that he loved to watch her fight, and was even tempted to fight by her side a couple times.

Ares stepped over a body of a man screaming for water. Those mortals didn't matter to him, it was the battle that was important. Nothing else, he always loved to fight. Maybe that's why he was so willing to fight anything and everything, for the cause of Olympus, or against it when the others were afraid to lift a finger. He was a warrior god, and the others were not so much.

The barbarian king called out, "Lord Ares! My victory is your victory!"

Ares groaned, "Very good Teritra. I already know!"

Ares missed the jousting he would have with Xena. She would battle him on anything and wasn't afraid to say that Ares, God of War was wrong, and Ares had to admit to himself though he wouldn't admit it to anyone else he was wrong from time to time. But Xena had a perception of war and battle like no other mortal in the world. If Ares should ever have to lose his mantle as God of War, Xena could easily fulfill that role if needed.

Course now he was in the golden age of warfare, it was happening worldwide. He was concerned of Rome, he'd selected rightfully so as it turned out, to back Caesar's play, but Caesar was so good that Ares suspected that if allowed, Caesar could conquer much of the known world. As much as Caesar would like to see world conquest, the ultimate goal of a military strategist, he knew what it meant if it occurred, no more good battles. A civil war once in a while maybe, but not like it is now. Besides, he'd rather someone else conquer the world. A certain female…

Ares teleported to another part of the world. Here the Egyptians were clashing with the Seleucid Empire for control of the land once known as Israel. The war had formed many interesting battles to watch but he knew the Seleucid fate had already been sealed. Against his advice they engaged in pointless wars against Egypt and the Armenians for over a century and they had weakened internally for it.

Nothing annoyed the God of War more than someone ignoring his advice when it was sound, and it was in this case. He'd suggested a step by step elimination of the Armenians in the north, and greater control over the warriors belonging to their puppet state of Pontus that bordered the Armenians from the eastern mountain ranges. But they'd ignored him. Their king wanted glory and didn't pay attention to potential defeat.

His keen eyes drifted further east to the realm of what was at times called Persia. There the tribes were forming into a legit centralized government. They were rising fast enough that they would be able to challenge Rome. They were called the Parthians, the Seleucid Empire was going to fall to the Parthians when they come, and they will come and then the great battle between Rome and Parthia would occur one day. Ares made no secret that he looked forward to that great war. It would be one for the ages.

He glanced again at Seleucia's war. Ah, missed potential, Xena could have this army if she wanted it. She would have listened to Ares on the subject of Seleucia's path of conquest if not saw it herself before he even said anything. That woman was better than almost any man he had ever known. If only she would leave her path of following the greater good and follow a path of war again.

He'd give her the choice of any army in the world. He'd even cast aside Caesar for her. His mind always drifted back to Xena. He tried to deny sometimes but his sister told him once that he wasn't just interested in the abilities of the dark haired warrior, but in fact he was in love with her. He tried to cast aside such thoughts and words of his sister, the goddess of love.

True enough he did 'love' a lot of women. His seed could be found in Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, the Roman Peninsula, Carthage, Egypt, and there was that wild woman he met that came from Chin. They could do things in bed like no other woman he'd ever experienced. Ares tried not to smile at the thought of the sexual games he'd played with that woman from Chin.

But his smile did fade away with a thought of shame. Love or no love he'd always wanted to bed Xena, but he'd never actually done it. Sure, he'd been with her body when her body was inhabited by the soul of Callisto, but he did not have sex with Xena. It wasn't her soul, it wasn't her essence, and it wasn't the same.

He wouldn't forget the feel of her body, but it tormented him in some way knowing that it wasn't Xena, he felt cheated. How much did he really love Xena and how much of it was just lust? He didn't really know. It had to be different, surely it was. He lusted for Gabrielle too and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't love with her. In fact, if he'd ever had the chance where she'd let him take her willfully, he would seriously consider putting a gag in her mouth first.

Aside from the annoying nature of voice at times, it was more a reminder of what he lost with Xena than anything else. He wouldn't want to hear her voice if such a thing like sex happened. He smiled as he thought about having sex with Hope. She was exactly like Gabrielle, in almost every way. At least he could guess, course that little booty call almost cost him his mantle for a while, luckily for himself, his father didn't really have anyone to replace him with so he got to keep it in the end.

But in truth, Aphrodite was right… he really did love Xena. It wasn't like his time with the Egyptian Goddess of War, Sekmet, he thought that was love, even produced two sons, but it wasn't love. With Xena however, it really was love.

A tear emerged from Ares' eye. He loved Xena deeply but he was slowly realizing that Xena was lost to him forever. Never before had immortality seemed so lonesome. He was going to live forever and Xena could only go another 60 years at the max. With her being a warrior, it could happen a lot sooner than that. All she is waiting for is some asshole to get a lucky shot and Xena might lose her head.

Ares dreaded the thought. But mostly it was the cold hard truth that Xena was going to die and he was going to lose her. There was nothing he could really do to stop it. She'd never be convinced to be made a god, and Zeus would not approve doing it to her without her consent. He sighed… eons were going to be lonely indeed.

No Xena, just meaningless warlords fighting meaningless wars, all along with meaningless women and having meaningless sex. Immortality blows, but although time was limited, he was going to make time in his life to be with Xena, even as an adversary. Because even as an adversary, no one made Ares feel more alive than Xena.

Xena may have been Gabrielle's soul mate, but the warrior truly had the heart of the god of war, and he was going to have her anyway he could get her. Because nothing made him feel better than being around the warrior princess named Xena, his love, his favorite, his chosen. Xena.


End file.
